Bowler’s Thiex named to CWC-North boys basketball 1st team

Bowler High School’s Logan Thiex was named to the Central Wisconsin Conference-North Division first team after his senior basketball season.

In 12 conference games, Thiex averaged 12.8 points, 7.1 rebounds 2.4 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.8 blocks.

“Being named to the all-conference first team as a senior is a true honor to me,” said Thiex. “It shows I left everything out on the court and other people put notice on that.”

Thiex helped the Panthers to a 4-8 conference record and then guided the team to a Division 5 regional final playoff game before the team was eliminated.

“I’m going to remember all the fun times we had,” said Thiex. “All the laughs at practices and before games, it’s going to be missed. I’m also going to remember that our team made a good playoff push to top off my high school basketball career. This year was not like any other.”

Bowler had two other players also garner all-conference honors. Senior Lane Schultz and Emmitt Kietlinski each were honorable mentions.

In conference action, Schultz averaged 10.4 points and 3.7 rebounds to go along with a team-high 3.3 assists and 2.6 steals.

“This year was really a special one for us,” said Schultz. “We exceeded our 10-win goal (12 overall) we set at the start of the season — the first time Bowler has done that in 10 seasons. On top of that, it felt so good hosting a playoff game as a senior, it makes all the hard work the past four years feel like a success.

“I just hope the underclassmen see this the same way I do and continue to work harder and harder to make the program better.”

Kietlinski was third on the team in points per conference game (9.5), while leading the team in rebounds (7.2).

The sophomore also averaged 1.9 assists and 1.8 steals per contest.

“Being named honorable mention all-conference is really all about my teammates,” said Kietlinski. “This year’s seniors encouraged and inspired me. I also play with several other underclassmen who are going to be all-conference caliber players next year, too.”

Tigerton

Seniors Kaeden Miller and Justin Knaup each landed on all-conference teams for Tigerton, which went 1-10 in conference play.

Miller made the second team after leading the Tigers in scoring. He averaged 15.1 points in the eight conference games he played in, hitting 19 3-pointers in those contests.

Miller also averaged 2 steals, 1.6 assists and 2.5 rebounds per CWC-North game.

“I understand that all-conference awards are for singular players. I still personally take it as a team award,” said Miller. “I couldn’t have done anything at all without my teammates or coaches. That’s my group of guys, my brothers, and I owe it all to them.”

“What I’m going to remember the most about this year are the personal bonds I made with everyone. Playing with a new group of guys really brought me closer with them. I’m very glad that I could play with them, there’s nobody else I’d rather be playing with. I’m excited to see the success that comes their way in the future.”

Knaup played in all 11 of Tigerton’s conference games, posting averages of 6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per contest.

“It’s a really great feeling to know that others see the effort I put in on the court,” said Knaup.

“I’m really going to remember being a part of the tournament this year. The whole team just worked really hard and got the win and get us to the next round.”

The Tigers earned a playoff win over Northland Lutheran before being eliminated by Gresham in a Division 5 regional semifinal.

Manawa’s Mason Wiesner was named the conference’s Player of the Year, while Gresham’s Jeff Zobeck took home the Coach of the Year honor. Manawa won the conference title with a 10-1 record, with Gresham in second at 9-2.

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